Laughing With Your Pretty Mouth
by dear runaway
Summary: ON HIATUS. When his father called him to tell him his exwife died in a car accident, Dan never thought there would be strings attached. Strings that had a name. DanBlair, future, tvbased.
1. Can't Stop This Thing We've Started

_When his father called him to tell him his ex-wife died__ in a car accident, Dan never thought__ there would be strings attached. Strings that had a name._

**A/N: **First GG fan fiction, and I wasn't sure whether to post it, but the idea kept nagging me. And I love me some Dan and Blair, so I thought, why not? Please read and review, ty!

**Disclaimer: **Gossip Girl isn't mine. Kkthnxbai.

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**LAUGHING WITH YOUR PRETTY MOUTH.  
**one. _can't stop this thing we've started._

He flung himself onto the sofa, completely worn out and taking deep breathes as he briefly closed his eyes. God, that had been horrible. He had never been on a date that horrible. Not even his first date with Serena had been that horrible. Not even his divorce with Serena had been that horrible.

He smiled wryly at his lame attempt at a joke, making fun of his own failed marriage when his signature on the divorce papers had been as though he had ripped out his own heart.

His hair was mussed, and his tie looked out of place with the red wine stain on his suit, but Dan was glad to be back in his small apartment, trying to forget that this day had ever happened. His eyes opened and his gaze was drawn to the lights outside, smiling genuinely this time.

Dan rose to his feet again and walked towards his window, where he had an amazing view over entire Los Angeles. It looked beautiful, even more than his hometown, New York, in his opinion.

His pocked suddenly vibrated and he wondered whether his date had drugged him into feeling things that weren't there, before realizing it was his phone. He reached for his cell and didn't bother looking at the number ID as he answered the one phone call that would change his life forever.

_"Dan,"_

He didn't need a name to know that this was his father on the other side of the line,and he smiled to himself. It had been a while since he had talked to his father.

"Hey, dad, what's up?" A silence met his ears, but he could hear the distant sobs of Rufus' fiancé and his once-mother in law, Lilly (_Lilly Van Der Woodsen) _echoing. He frowned; panic arising inside of his chest. He knew at once something terrible had happened.

"_Serena,"_ his father croaked out, and Dan felt as though his insides turned. "_Serena passed away today_,"

He could feel something inside of him breaking, and while he hadn't seen Serena in five years, she had still been the love of his life and now she was – _oh, God, she was gone_.

"What happened?"

He couldn't even hear his own voice, blood rushing so quickly into his head that he could hear a faint buzz inside of his mind, but didn't know what it was.

_"A drunk driver hit her, she died on impact."_

His father's voice was vague, hesitant, but strong.

_"And there's something else I need to tell you."__**  
**_

New York traffic was the worst, especially when you had to go somewhere and you needed to be there on time. Such as a funeral. Dan scowled, taking a glimpse on his watch before opening the door of his cab and rushing out, ignoring the man's cry for his money. He huffed, he had only been in the cab for five seconds to avoid being late, but now he was really going to be.

The wake was held in his old house, which had been slightly redecorated thanks to Lilly, but still smelled like home. He arrived _(only)_ five minutes late, and his eyes wandered. Where, where, where.**  
**

And then he saw her.

She was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Golden curls, _so much like Serena's, _hung loosely, framing her child-like _(child-like? Dan, she is a child, _he reminded himself) face gracefully. Her round, rosy cheeks looked flushed, as if she had just run a mile and her rosebud mouth was curved high, revealing the lovliest smile he had ever seen.

_His daughter._

Dan watched her from afar; unable to move as if he had grown roots, and vaguely wondered how it could be possible that this child, so innocent, so pure, was his.

_("You have a daughter, Dan.")_

It was only when there was a change in scenery that he noticed with whom she, _his daughter_, was with, waking from his trance while watching how a familiar brunette cooed towards the small girl, slender hands reaching out for her. "Come here, baby." came a soft, although raspy voice. It was clear as day the woman had been crying before, but Dan was too fixated on the little girl to notice this just yet.

Her radiant face shone, blonde curls bouncing as she freed herself from her grandmother's grasp and ran towards the woman, throwing her little arms around the brunette's neck and giggling happily. "Auntie Blair!"

Dan felt sick all of a sudden.

_Blair knew._

A hand shook him free from his thoughts and he quickly turned to see his own father smiling down at him gently. His eyes were red and slightly puffy, but he looked generally pleased to see his son. Once Rufus opened his mouth, the question Dan had wanted to know his entire flight was answered.

"Her name is Elle."

Dan thought it suited her, ignoring the fact a name couldn't really suit a face.

Rufus smiled, elaborating on the name. "It's short for Eleanor. She was named after Blair's mother." Her name origin made sense now: Eleanor Waldorf had died from cancer just five years before, two short months after his divorce from Serena had occurred. He hadn't gone to the funeral, not wanting to risk seeing his ex-wife and also because he had never gotten to know the woman. Still, he had sent Blair his regrets, receiving a simple _thank you_ through the phone _(more so his answering machine)_ in return. But that thank you had made a difference; it was what had made them start talking to each other again after his split from Serena. It was funny, how he had lost almost every friend he seemingly had when he had signed those divorce papers.

Serena had always been the popular one.

He suddenly caught her gaze, the same big doe-eyes he remembered once ranting to his father about staring into his own. Her eyes spoke volume to him, and while he hadn't seen her for years, he knew that emotion playing into her brown hues for he had seen it before: _guilt_.

His hands curled into fists, anger overtaking him. Not only had his father and his Lilly kept this secret from him, but Blair had been playing along the game as well. _Fuck_, he cursed, what was next? Vanessa would miraculously turn up from wherever the hell she was and tell him that she too knew about the child he never knew about?

Rufus, as if reading his mind, squeezed his shoulder with his hand. "You'll get answers after the funeral, Dan. But it's time to say goodbye now."

He just merely nodded, his gaze once more fixated on his daughter as he walked forward and unknowingly started another part of his life.


	2. Lead Balloons

_When his father called him to tell him his ex-wife died__ in a car accident, Dan never thought__there would be strings attached. Strings that had a name._

**A/N:**Thank you for all your responses! And while I am not the fastest updater, I just had a sudden urge to do so. I'm hoping for five more reviews before I continue. Hint, nudge.

**Disclaimer: **Gossip Girl isn't mine. Kkthnxbai.

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**LAUGHING WITH YOUR PRETTY MOUTH.  
**two. _lead balloons._

The ceremony was beautiful.

Dan hadn't seen her body because the casket had been shut. And while he wanted to believe it was because Serena was so breath-taking beautiful that it would have given some men a heart attack upon sight, he knew better. His father had told him why, albeit with so much difficulty it had taken a few _why's_from him before Rufus answered. They had done an autopsy. They had cut her open like a doll just to see whether she had been under the influence of something when some man had crashed his car into hers, without the consent of her mother, Lilly.

Lilly had been devastated, Rufus told him, to find her daughter having been pulled apart. Dan had felt sick at the image; while it had been five years since their divorce had happened, he had still loved that woman with all his heart. His beautiful Serena, who never stopped smiling.

Dan swept a hand across his hair, lighting a cigarette (a habit he had picked up from after his divorce, it was better than wasting himself with alcohol, he guessed) as he leant against a tree near the graveyard. He blew out some smoke as he let his gaze wander around, allowing himself to think.

After the priest had spoken a few words, they had all gone outside. He had helped carry the casket along with his father, Erik (whom he hadn't seen in three years) and Nathaniel Archibald (whom had looked emotionally blank, which scared Dan just a little) while Lilly, her mother Cece (whom hadn't spared him a single glance), Jenny (whom sobbed all the way through) and a few close friends and relatives trailed behind them.

All the way through, even when Serena was being lowered towards the ground and being covered in dirt, his mind was on his daughter. She hadn't been there.

And even now, he still hadn't seen her. It had been three hours since he had seen her. He made no attempt to see her. What if she hated him, for not being there for most part of her life? He hadn't even known that Serena had been pregnant, damn it. Why hadn't she told him? It could have saved their marriage, for god sakes. He wouldn't have walked out on something as big as this.

"Auntie Blair?"

A soft voice intruded his thoughts, and Dan's head shot up to look around him. He saw her then, Elle, his daughter, strolling onto the grounds while her small hand was clasped into another, Blair's. Blair, who hadn't noticed him, smiled down at the girl, gently. "Yes, Elle?"

"Where's my mommy?"

Dan's heart broke right there and then, for the second time in the past five years.

By the looks of it, so did Blair's. He could see the tears welling up into her eyes and somehow, his anger with her had dwelled into nothing. He could see her stuttering. The usual so full of confidence and poise woman had turned into a bundle of nerves. Completely unaware of his own actions, Dan had carefully stepped into their direction, focusing on his daughter as he did. The little girl saw him then, and tilted her head to the side in mild confusion – a trademark she had received from her mother.

"Daddy?"

He froze, the cigarette falling towards the ground.

Blair quickly turned around to see him, shock evident in her movement, brown hair blowing behind her as she did. Elle had broken free from her grasp and was still looking at him as though he wasn't actually there. He wondered if he wasn't, if this was all just a dream, if he was lying in his bed and his mind was playing tricks with him.

When he felt a small, warm hand on top of his own, touching him as though he was a balloon that could pop any second, he knew it wasn't.

"Are you my daddy?" the small voice asked, hazel eyes looking up to him with hope. Her small fingers wrapped around his thumb, and he stared down at her only to notice that his eyes were staring up back at him. He knelt down, unsure of what to do, and could hear Blair's sharp inhales of air near them as he answered.

"Yes, I am."

He didn't even want to know how she knew it was him, all that mattered was that she did, and that she was hugging him with all her might now and that she was crying onto his shirt for all the wrong reasons. She should be crying because her mother had just died, not because her father was there. But he couldn't feel guilty, because it just felt so good to hold her.

It was a few minutes later until she finally released him and Elle looked up at him with a bright smile, the question of where her mother was obviously forgotten.

"Eleanor," came Blair's sudden voice, obviously strained, "Could you go get your grandmother?"

Elle turned to look at her, and then with a shake of her curls, started to sprint away from Dan, the smile still on her face. After a few seconds of running, she turned back around, focused on Dan. "Don't go anywhere, daddy!" And with another glimpse of her glowing expression, she was gone, back into the church where Lilly had resided.

Dan's eyes trailed after her until he couldn't see her anymore, before standing up to face the brunette before him. She stared back at him with a defiant expression, though the redness of her eyes and cheeks made her look more miserable than anything.

"Hi," she mumbled, rather lamely.

He looked at her as though she had slapped him. "How could you have not told me, Blair?"

"Dan, I-"

"She's my daughter, for crying out loud! Did you not think I didn't want to know this little fact?"

"Yes, but-"

"She's my_daughter_, Blair!"

"Serena told me not to." It was said so calmly, but so strong, that Dan was at lost for words. Blair continued, "She was so upset about the divorce, Dan. And when she found out she was pregnant, it only made things worse. She wanted to tell you, but she was so afraid. She was afraid you'd think she had cheated on you, or worse, only got pregnant to win you back. I know it sounds ridiculous-" she said this because of the astonished look on his face, "-but she was just so upset, and so scared. It made me scared. I promised her to never tell you. I couldn't break that promise." At this point, Blair had broken down, hiding her face with her hands as she didn't want him to see that she was crying. "I couldn't break that promise because it was _Serena_." She was crying because she had lost her best friend, and now she had to tell a little girl that she had lost her mother.

Dan looked at her before his defences started to crumble. He knew what she was going through, because he was going through the same thing. He reached out for her, pausing once seeing her flinch, but continued only seconds after and engulfed her into an embrace.

He placed his head on top of her head as she cried into his shoulder, finally letting all those emotions go. His hands smoothed down her back, making comforting circles as he stared into the distance. A lot of things had to happen, a lot of things had to be arranged, but for now he was content with trying to make the brunette in his arms feel better just a bit.


End file.
